New Birth
by xx-afraid-of-reality-xx
Summary: Starting from when Edward was sick in 1918 all the way to the moment where he first sees Bella in the cafeteria. Please Review.. my first posted fanfic: Rated T just in case. Still a work in progress, Chapter 5 is complete! Still working on the rest.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

I knew I would die someday, that was inevitable. But who knew I'd be the living dead? Who knew one day I'd be a mythical creature? Who knew one day I'd have skin cold as ice and skin hard as granite, gold eyes that faded to black day by day? Who knew one day I'd be a vampire?

As if being a vampire wasn't strange enough, I had to be strange among the strange. I could read people's thoughts and I was a "vegetarian". This of course, was my choice; I chose to follow in my father's steps after my new birth. I could not deal with the consequences of stealing a human's life simply for my needs, and my lust for blood.

Of course to gain this knowledge, I had to obtain the experience. Let me explain to you the story of my new life up until this very moment.

-Edward Cullen


	2. Chapter One: The Fire

**Chapter One: The Fire**

I was born in Chicago in 1901. I was named after my father, Edward Masen Senior. I looked nothing like my father; I was a spitting image of my mother, Elizabeth Masen. Emerald green eyes and I had the same strange shade of bronze hair. As I grew up, my dream was to become a soldier and serve my country. My parents continuously tried to find me a woman to take as my wife. None of these young ladies held my attention for long; they were very materialistic and did not understand that deep in my heart, I had the soul of a soldier.

It was the summer of 1918. I was seventeen years old. Marie was the newest maiden my parents had tried to put me with. We were walking around the garden when one of our many maids, Louise, came running out the door. She was like a second mother to me. She looked very scared and worked up about something.

Instantly and completely forgetting about Marie, I ran over to Louise. I put one hand on each of her arms. "Louise! What happened?!" In a normal case, Louise would have scolded me for my behavior, but all she said was, "Your father…" I ran through the garden doors and headed straight to my father's study. He was passed out on his chair with blood stains on his work suite.

I didn't think twice, I ran outside to look for help, within the next hour, my father was taken to the hospital. We waited until nightfall for a doctor to see my father. My mother kept pacing in front of my father's bed. It was around twilight that a doctor entered. "Hello. I am Dr. Cullen; it appears your husband is suffering from the Spanish influenza. It seems he has already passed on to the last stages of the disease. There is nothing we can do, I'm terribly sorry." I was unable to doubt the sincerity of his apology.

Dr. Cullen was tall, had blonde hair, and could be no older than thirty. He had strange gold eyes, and very pale skin, probably a result from working nights at the hospital. I looked from the doctor to my father; I walked over to his bed and just watched my father. I looked at my mother and decided the best thing to do was to get her home to get some rest. "Mother, we should head home, I'm sure we can visit him tomorrow." I looked meaningfully at the doctor; he smiled sympathetically and replied "Of course."

I nodded in thanks, put one arm around my mother's shoulder and led her back to the car we had borrowed. I brought my mother to bed, wished her goodnight and headed back to my room to get some rest.

I awoke the next day with a pounding in my head, I ran to the bathroom as I began coughing up blood. I went to my mother's room and found her in the same condition. I called Louise into the room and told her to arrange transportation for my mother and I to go to the hospital.

Today we saw the doctor right away and we were both diagnosed with the Spanish influenza. I was beginning the late stages of the disease, but my mother still had a chance. As we were brought to our rooms we found out that my father had not made it through the night. Silent tears formed in my eyes and my mother collapsed. Despite my condition, I helped her to her bed before settling into mine. I quickly fell asleep to my mother's chant of "It will be alright."

I awoke much later to find my mother patting my head with a cold cloth, trying to bring down my fever. I tried to convince her to try and improve her chances of survival, and not decrease it by taking care of me, who was going to die regardless.

Despite my efforts to convince my mother, she continued to nurse me. We had become quite close with the night doctor, Dr. Cullen. He told us to call him Carlisle. One day while I was sleeping, my mother died, I woke up in a new ward, the ward of the dying, I imagine they had simply kept me in the other ward for my mother's sake.

As I lay there on my deathbed, I thought. I would never become a soldier, and – a little too late to realize- I would never have a family. I was seventeen years old, my life had barely started, and now it was abruptly ending. I fell into a deep sleep, thinking it would be the last time I ever would.

I felt something shaking my shoulder, I slowly opened my eyes and to my astonishment, I saw Carlisle standing beside me. "Edward, you know both of your parents have passed on?" I nodded not wanting to betray how deep that hurt me. He continued, "You realize you will pass on with them…?" There was an odd hesitation as he spoke, as if he had some secret he wanted to tell me. I sighed and answered, "Yes, I realize that." I noticed how sad my voice sounded. I glanced at Carlisle; he was debating something in his mind. "Well, Edward, What if… I could save you? Would you like me too?" I looked at him in shock; I couldn't speak so I merely nodded. He looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking to me again.

"Close your eyes and try to make your breathing look slowed." I understood, he wanted me to pretend I was dead. I obliged, he rolled my bed to the morgue without attracting much attention, and Carlisle told me to stay silent. He left for a moment and came back with a wheelchair. The halls must have been empty because after Carlisle sat me in the wheelchair he began walking rapidly towards the exit. It was pitch black outside, must have been the early hours of the morning. Carlisle picked me up with ease, I wondered how that was possible, and then we were flying.

It was one of the most exhilarating, yet terrifying experience of my life. We arrived at a small house, which I assumed was Carlisle's. The windows were boarded up and it seemed not a ray of sunlight would have been able to seep through. As he entered the house – with me still in his arms – he set me on a bed. He left the room for a moment and then came back in.

"I'm terribly sorry Edward." I was wondering what he was apologizing for when he suddenly brought his mouth to my neck and bit me. He did this swiftly and then took a seat beside me.

That's when the fire began.


	3. Chapter Two: New Birth

_I forgot to add in the Prologue and in Chapter One, I don't own the Twilight Series, as much as I wish I did, they belong to the amazingly talented Stephenie Meyer._

_Please Review!_

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**Chapter Two : New Birth**

I thought Carlisle said he would save me. Fire was coursing through my veins; pain was in every fiber of my being. He must have lied to me just to torture me more. I was already dying, why would he want to make things worse? I screamed in agony but the pain did not subside. I no longer paid attention to time. I prayed for death, I begged for it, but I realized I must have been sent to hell. I was dead, and I was being punished for my sins.

Sent to hell? That was not possible. I was not a sinner! Not once had I sinned. I let out another howl of pain; I was able to concentrate for a moment on Carlisle's face. It was then that I understood that he was trying to save me. He winced as he watched my contorted face. I wondered how he could be saving me by causing me all this agony.

As the pain began to subside, I still did not realize how long I had been lying there. "_I'm so sorry Edward…_", "Don't worry Carlisle; I don't feel any pain anymore." As the pain had completely subsided I was able to think more clearly. I felt well again, as if I had never been ill in the first place. "_Edward… Can you read my thoughts?_" as he spoke I realized that his mouth was not moving, that he was not speaking. I could read his thoughts. I nodded in awe at my new ability.

I sat up from the bed and caught a glimpse of my hand. It was pale like the moon, and felt cold and hard as rock. I ran to the bathroom – at an alarming speed – and looked at my reflection in the mirror.

The person looking back could not be me; this stranger had pale skin like Carlisle's. This stranger could run at an amazing speed, faster than any human ever could. The most alarming thing about this stranger was the cold, brilliant red eyes. Carlisle walked in the bathroom, an ancient sadness visible in his gold eyes. I forgot about my ability to read minds. I searched for Carlisle's voice.

"_No need for that Edward. I shall explain everything._" I waited expectantly not taking my eyes away from my new reflection. "Edward, you are… we are, vampires." I abruptly looked at him and a laugh escaped my mouth. A vampire? That was preposterous; vampires were nothing but legends to scare young children. They could not be real, but as I looked in the mirror once again, I could find no other explanation.

"Yes I know it seems ridiculous, but it is true. Although you are a vampire, there are still rules you must follow, and new knowledge I must teach you." I looked at him incredulously, I had become a mythical creature, and I still had to learn? From what I had read, vampires were the living dead, immortals, but dead none the less. So he had saved me, but had killed me at the same time.

"As you can see, you now have incredibly pale skin, just like me. Your eye colour has changed – "I interrupted, "Your eyes gold and mine are are this shade of red. Why?" He smiled at me, obviously glad that I was not as angry anymore. "Because I have chosen not to drink human blood. I drink the blood from animals so that I can satisfy my thirst without having to kill a human. Yours are red because at the moment your body is using up your own blood."

I looked at him incredulously. This was hard to take in. He took a deep breath and continued. "You will have amazing strength, in which case, if you decide to interact with humans, you will have to learn to control your strength. As you've noticed you also have incredible speed. Strangely enough you seemed to have acquired an extra gift. Your mind reading abilities."

"_I wonder how far his abilities range… It'd be interesting to study…_" I glared at him fiercely, "Carlisle, I am not an animal for you to study." He looked at me apologetically, "I'm sorry Edward, just the idea of your ability pricked at my curiosity.

I was so preoccupied with my new appearance and learning what I had become that I did not feel the strange ache in my throat at first. It was as if it were a fire refusing to be put out. I was thirsty, it was then that realization hit, I wanted blood, human blood. "I'm sure you are very thirsty right now Edward." I nodded. "Well, before I take you hunting, let me show you you're two options for feeding.

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_I'm not very impressed with this chapter, but I was trying to fit in as many details as possible. Please Review!!_

_Afraid._


	4. Chapter Three: Carlisle's Philosophy

_Sadly, again I do not own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does._

_Some of you may recognize the story line for the chapter "Carlisle" in Twilight; I will be taking bits and pieces from it to help form this chapter as Carlisle explains why he hunts animals._

_P.S just in case some of you are wondering, anything in quotes that are in italic are thoughts that Edward is reading. If there is an emphasis on any one word, it will be italic AND bolded. Enjoy :)_

_Please Review!_

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**Chapter Three: Carlisle's Philosophy**

''So Edward, as I've already explained to you about our eyes, the vampires that drink human blood have red eyes, and those who decide to satiate their thirst with animal blood have gold eyes. As I explain each option to you, I hope you will decide to accompany me in my beliefs." I nodded listening intently, Carlisle could have simply thought his explanations, but for some odd reason he felt the need to speak out loud.

"I will start by explaining how my existence happened." He glanced at me to make sure I was paying attention. "_Where to start exactly…_" Carlisle thought. "I was born in England sometime in the sixteen-forties, time was not accurately marked at the time, but it was shortly before Cromwell's rule. My father was an Anglican pastor; my mother had died when she gave birth to me, and so I did not have the chance to know her. _If only I had had the chance…_"

"I'm sorry Carlisle." I felt sympathy for Carlisle. He smiled warmly and continued. "Sadly, my father was quite intolerant man, and I was a very obedient son. As the Protestants came into power, he became enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed strongly in the reality of evil. He had led hunts for witches, werewolves and vampires."

_And all this time I thought mythical creatures were indeed just that, mythical_. I thought to myself. I paid closer attention to Carlisle's story. "_If only father had been more thorough in his searches, so many innocent people…_"

"And so many innocent people were burned; it was rare that they were able to catch the real creatures we sought." I noticed how he had used _**we**_,I realized that Carlisle had led some of the hunts as well. "As my father grew old, he placed me in charge of the raids, I was a disappointment because I would not accuse so quickly. I was persistent and eventually discovered a coven of true vampires. They lived hidden in the sewers of the city, and only came out at night to hunt."

"In those days, many vampires lived that way. A raid was arranged, people gathered their pitchforks and torches, and we waited for the monsters to exit the sewer." Carlisle's voice grew sad, bleak and angry. "One had emerged; I imagine he was ancient, and weak with hunger. He called out to his coven when he had caught sent of us. He began to run through the streets, I was twenty-three at the time, and very quick and so I led the pursuit."

"If the vampire had not been weak with hunger, he could have escaped, but he decided to turn and attack us. He attacked me first, but many were close behind me and he turned to defend himself. He killed two other men, and left with a third, leaving me bleeding in the streets. I knew what my father would do. The bodies of the infected would be burned, destroyed. I acted to save my own life. I crawled from the alley as the mob continued to follow the fiend; I hid in a cellar, burying myself in rotten potatoes for three days."

"After my transformation was complete I realized what I had become, a vampire." He suddenly broke off, if he were able to cry, I'm sure he would have. I wasn't sure what else I could do so I apologized, for what, I was not sure, but it was all I could think to do. He smiled a small smile again. "Thank you Edward. _I hope I did the right thing in changing him…_" it was my turn to smile at him, "I'm sure you did Carlisle. So after you realized what you had become, what happened?" My curiosity was raging with the mystery of Carlisle's past. He smiled again and continued.

"After I realized what I had become, I tried to destroy myself; I realized that that is not something that is easily done. I tried jumping from great heights, I tried to drown myself in the ocean, and many other things, but to my dismay at the time, it did not work. From what I have seen of other newborns, the instinct to kill is so much more powerful, but I was so repelled by myself that I had the strength to try and kill myself with starvation. This, again, did not work. There are very few ways we can be killed."

"Eventually I grew very hungry, and very weak. I strayed as far as I could from the human populace as I recognized that my willpower was weakening too. For months I wandered by night looking for the loneliest places, loathing myself. One night a heard of deer passed by my hiding place. I was so wild with thirst that I attacked the herd without thinking. My strength returned and I realized that there was an alternative to being this vile monster I once feared. Over the next few months, my philosophy was born; I could exist without being a demon."

"I began making better use of my time, I studied by night and planned by day, I decided to swim to France and continued through Europe, to the universities there. By night I studied music, science and medicine. I found my calling in medicine, my penance, in that, in saving human lives. It took me two centuries of torturous effort to perfect my self-control. I was studying in Italy when I found the others there; they were much more civilized than the ones of the London Sewers."

"I only spent a few decades with them, they call themselves the Volturi. I greatly admired their civility and their refinement, but they persisted in trying to cure my aversion of my 'natural food source'. They tried to persuade me, and I tried to persuade them, to no avail. At this point I decided to try the New World. I dreamt of finding others like myself as I was becoming very lonely."

"I did not find anyone for a very long time, but as monsters became myths and fairytales I found that I was able to interact with humans without arousing suspicion. I began to practice medicine, but the companionship I craved evaded me. When the influenza epidemic hit here a few months ago, I began working nights at the hospital, and now we have come full circle."

I nodded, acknowledging that he was done telling his tale. "And so, you never hunt humans? You always hunt animals?" He nodded. "_If you wish to hunt humans, then I shall have to explain the rules, and why I believe it is a bad idea, would you like me to?_" I realized that Carlisle was speaking to me through his thoughts. I wanted to look at all my options, so I nodded.

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_Alright, so that was pretty much the chapter "Carlisle" from Twilight… Sorry if it wasn't a very good chapter, but if Edward is going to choose if he wants to follow in Carlisle's steps, or go off on his own… this had to be explained. This was a pretty easy chapter to write, so I'm looking forward to writing the rest._

_Please Review!_

_Afraid._


	5. Chapter 4: Red or Gold

_I wish I owned Twilight… But I don't… Stephenie Meyer does._

_Alright… This will focus on the Volturi… The rules of being a Vampire… and well… Edwards decision obviously. It will probably be a short Chapter…_

_Please Review!_

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**Chapter ****Four: Red or Gold**

''_I hope he decides to follow in my steps, well, it is his decision..._" I felt a twinge of guilt as I heard Carlisle's thought. He did, after all, save me, but at the same time I was curious about feeding off of humans. Carlisle saw me flinch as he realized I heard his train of thought. He looked at me sadly. "_I'm sorry Edward, well, if you decide to hunt humans instead of animals, firstly we will not be able to travel together, I cannot risk familiarity here, and cannot be associated with the murders._" I understood his reasoning, he continued in his thoughts.

"_If you decide to hunt humans, you have to make sure to properly dispose of the corpse,_" He flinched, "_and make sure you attract no attention, if you do, it is prudent to move on elsewhere before risking being revealed. The Volturi, the coven in Italy, are sort of like vampire royalty, they've been here for thousands of years, if a vampire gets out of line, and are about to expose us for what we are, the Volturi destroy them. The only real rule is to keep our true natures hidden. There is not much story behind this, but now you may make your decision knowing both options._"

Even though I was simply listening to Carlisle's thoughts, I could hear the sadness in his thoughts wondering if I would abandon him. I smiled cunningly and said "So when do I learn to hunt Carlisle?" He looked up in surprise and he seemed to glow with joy. "Would you like to learn now son?" He thought of me as his son, and he seemed to care for me as a father should, although I did love my father, he did not have Carlisle's compassion, and Carlisle would be my new father now.

"_I hope Edward will think of me as his friend, and father figure…_" I grinned at Carlisle. "Of course I will _**father**_."

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_Like I said… Short, it was just Edward agreeing to follow Carlisle. Although it's a short chapter, I think it's a really important one showing how easily the bond between Carlisle and Edward is created. And now what happens next! -Gasp-! _

_Please Review!_

_Afraid._


	6. Chapter 5: Hunting

_Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight Series__ and it's characters, I am simply borrowing them for a little bit ._

_Please review!_

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**Chapter Five: Hunting**

I was excited to learn how to hunt, but was also a little bit afraid and insecure about how this was done. The only fear that seemed to cloud Carlisle's thoughts was how I would fare if we were to cross a human, and to be honest, that was a concern I myself had as well. But, Carlisle seemed to trust himself, and me, to hunt without harming another human, but even so, we did take many precautions.

We made sure that the first time he taught me to hunt; it was the darkest night could get, and that we were in a secluded forest area. I had not been around humans since my new birth yet, so I had not been exposed to any scents at all besides Carlisle's little home in Chicago. As we ventured into the trees, I began to feel an ache in my throat, a fire that could not be quenched, I wanted something to put it out, I wanted blood, I _**needed**_ blood. There was a monster inside of me, a creature that lusted for blood, for the fire to be put out.

I wasn't sure what the scents were, but I had not fed since my new birth and anything was welcomed, Carlisle motioned me forward with his hand. "_Now as soon as you get close enough, I'm pretty sure your instincts will take over and you will learn to hunt that way. There is no real way to explain how, it just happens._" Carlisle thought back to the many times he had hunted, and I believed I had the right idea on how to go about it.

"So can I go hunting yet?" I was beginning to get impatient, and the ache in my throat worsened every second as my nose filled with the scent of the many animals surrounding me. He nodded and I started running.

It was exhilarating! I had never felt such speed and freedom before. Something about the speed was tugging at my memory. I thought as I ran and realized that this must be how Carlisle transported me back to his home when I was changed. Abruptly, my train of thought ceased. I saw a deer only a few feet from me.

I glared at the creature through my red eyes, preparing to make the change from ruby red eyes, to warm gold ones like Carlisle. To rebel against the vile creature I was to be good. I crouched low, a growl escaping from my chest, and launched myself at the animal. It didn't have time to run, didn't even have time to make a sound before it fell to the ground.

The venom in my mouth had incapacitated it to allow me to drain the creature. I thought back to what I had seen in Carlisle's thoughts. I leaned my head down towards the deer, and created bite marks and began to drain the animal of blood. The fire began to cease a little bit, but did not completely fade away. I looked around me, looking for more food.

The whole night I spent hunting, learning how to use my new abilities, the sense of hearing, the intensity of my sight, the speed, everything! It was simply amazing; I have not felt so carefree in my entire life!

As I left the forest I heard Carlisle's thoughts. "_I hope things went well, let's hope he didn't stumble across a human, I'm sure he did great. Well when he comes back we'll find out._" I decided to sneak up on Carlisle.

"Hello. I hunted four deers, and I found a mountain lion, it was amazing!" Carlisle beamed, how proud he was radiated from his entire being. "That's great Edward! I'm glad you decided to follow in my footsteps, but…" Again with the hesitation, I didn't have the patience to wait; I was still high on the feeling of hunting.

"_Patience Edward. Now I know you're going to get angry, but for a while you're going to have to stay indoors until your instincts to kill begin to fade a little more, until your body uses up your own blood._"

I stared wordlessly at him. A whole year of being locked up like a prisoner, babysat like a child, treated like a child. This was not what I had bargained for. But, if I wanted to stay with Carlisle, be as good as I could be being a vile creature, then I had to.

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_Alright, sorry it took me so long to write you guys, I've been really busy and whatnot, but I decided that it didn't matter and that I just had to keep going with this. So enjoy and please review, when I get reviews (even though I've only gotten two) it inclines me to write more and try harder!_

_I have the beginning of Chapter Six written, I got my chapters mixed up and forgot to write this chapter originally._

_So again, please review!_

_Afraid._


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